Disclaimer: I do not own Spider-man. Okay, this is getting repetitive.
Fires and Cameras
"You know that girl is kind of strange, Peter," Mary-Jane stated.
"Yeah, Zina can be at times, but she's still nice," Peter said.
"I guess."
Peter was walking MJ home now after their encounter with Peter's new friend. They were still discussing her strange behavior as they approached Mary-Jane's apartment. They were quickly to the door.
"I suppose this is goodnight, MJ," Peter announced.
"Yep," MJ said as she gave Peter a short kiss before she walked to her door to go in. "Goodnight, Tiger. See you on Tuesday."
Peter watched the door for a short time afterwards before retreating to the nearest dark alley. He changed into costume with a smile plastered on his face. A small twip was heard as her emerged from the shadows to carry out his nightly duties.
He still wondered about Zina and why she had left so suddenly. His scientific mind was still trying to figure out what was wrong with her when he spotted a slumped body at the end of the alleyway. He landed by the person, fearing the worst until he spotted the knife beside him and figured out he was most likely a mugger. He grabbed the man and was just about to stick him to a light pole for the police to find when he noticed the large indent in the wall that his impact had made. If he had been normally thrown into wall the dent wouldn't be that big. There was some strong force behind the attack that had done that. This wasn't good. He thought about questioning the man, but since he was unconscious that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. He sighed. If someone or something new was here he would have to deal with it later. So, he carried out his original plan and headed off to stop a few crimes before the dawn broke.
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Zina was again early to class and in her seat before the bell rang. She was sketching a beautiful picture of lily covered with dew while she waited. Of course the wait wasn't long for she had just finished the shadowing when the shrill reminder of time cried out. The rest of the students filed in as she pulled out her homework and her notebook to copy more notes.
Dr. Conners was starting to speak again after he called role when Peter came running in. Late again. Dr. Conners excused him, and he took his seat next to Zina.
"Is it a fashion to always be late, Peter?" Zina questioned sarcastically.
"Is it a fashion to run away after seeing me, Zina?" Peter retorted.
"No," she answered plainly.
"Then why do it?"
"I have my reasons." 'For running away so I don't try to yell at you for your happiness.' she finished mentally.
"And I have my reasons for being late," Peter answered.
Zina sighed as the both turned in their homework. Afterwards Zina went to work writing down her notes while Peter turned on his tape recorder. The class carried on like this for awhile with Doc Conners giving a rather interesting lecture on neogenics and the students taking notes in their own ways. It was normal for the first half of class until suddenly Zina picked up the smell of smoke. She quickly stood up, right in the middle of the lecture.
"What is it, Ms. Lily?" Dr. Conners asked a bit irritated.
"I smell smoke," she stated.
All of a sudden the rest of the class scented it too. They of course started to panic a bit. Dr. Conners was trying to keep them under control and Peter was waving his hand in the air franticly.
"Dr. Conners, may I be excused?" he asked just as franticly as his arm motions.
"Yes, Peter!"
"Thanks," Peter said quickly as he rushed out of the door, leaving his backpack and tape recorder behind.
"Hey, Peter, wait a second!" Zina yelled to him, but he was gone. Zina growled in frustration as she stopped the tape recorder, tossed it into his backpack, picked it up, and headed for the door while dodging hysterically loud students. She noticed large skid marks on the ground and followed them. They went on for a short time down the hall then suddenly stopped, like the person who made them had disappeared. Zina looked up and the doors were right in front of her. She exited swiftly. The scene before her could only be described as chaotic.
Students of different ages were running around, screaming and crying. Sirens of fire trucks were wailing and a gigantic fire was spreading across the building where the dorms resided. The flames licked in and out of the building's windows. It seemed to be concentrated in one area though, luckily. And through all of this a costumed hero was swinging around and saving people from the fiery depths of this created hell.
Zina was again witnessing the exploits of her favorite good guy. He had just grabbed a couple from the roof, bringing them to the ground, when Zina picked up on a clicking noise.
'Is that a camera?' she questioned mentally as she turned to where the sound was coming from. She saw something silvery glinting in the sunlight that pierced through the smoke. She then dropped Peter's bag and headed for the two poles underneath the object.
Zina reached them in a few seconds and looked around carefully to see if anyone was paying attention to her. They weren't. Good. She shifted to her second form. Her irises turned crimson, her canines and nails lengthened, cougar ears appeared on the top of her head, (Replacing her human ones.) two slinky tails sprung from her lower back, and stark white wings sprouted from her shoulder blades. (Good thing she was wearing a backless shirt.)
Zina sunk her claws into a pole and commenced climbing up it with a speed that would rival a very fast car. She paused when she reached the object.
'It is a camera!' she exclaimed in her thoughts. 'But what's a camera doing here taking pictures of…Spider-man!' Zina now noticed where the camera was aiming. It was taking perfect shots of the wall-crawler. 'Wait a second. I thought Peter was the one who took pictures of him. Why is he taking pictures of himself? This doesn't make sense.'
The girl suddenly realized something very important. She was twenty feet up in the air, the fire was getting under control, and the number-one-crime-fighter would be returning very soon to gather his possessions. Zina swiftly leapt off the pole, changed to her human form while doing so, and landed in a crouched stance. She then stood and moved inconspicuously back toward the crowd of people while she watched the said hero swing to the poles and then disappear.
Peter's backpack was soon picked up and Zina looked around for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen him since he had rushed out the door. While she was waiting, one of the professors came out and announced that the classes would be canceled today. She sighed. Something that kept her busy for a while had gone poof. Zina was just about to try to locate Peter when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She whirled around quickly to find none other than the person she had been about to search for, Peter Parker.
"You know you disappear at the most inappropriate times," Zina remarked.
"Really?" he asked.
"Yeah, well anyway, you left this back in the classroom, Mr. Photographer," she teased with the last bit while she pushed his backpack into his hands.
"Uh…thanks."
"Anytime. So, do you know why Spider-man takes pictures of himself if you already do that for him?"
Peter's eyes widened a bit.
'How did she find that out?' "Not really."
"Oh? Alright. Well, if you ever do, just drop by my place sometime. It's the Blue Flower complex, apartment number thirty-two. See you tomorrow," she said as she turned around and walked off.
Peter stared after her for a moment before he decided it might be time for Spider-man to pay her a visit and find out just how much she knew.
Author's Note: Okay, everyone, hope you like this chapter. Next chapter a discussion occurs between Zina and Spider-man. Things are said and actions are taken. I'm naming it "Interesting Encounters".
